Nightmare*~
by Charon
Summary: A somewhat more gothic take on Mamoru's nightmares during the R season


This is one of the darkest 'fics I've written up to date. I won't give away the plot, but this is definitely not one for the kiddies.  
  
~*Nightmare*~  
  
She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.  
  
She glided out of the shadows, her form clad in purest white, a creature from the legends made in the image of the moonlight that she served. Her eyes caught his and she smiled; eyes the color of the morning sky glowed with inner happiness. Did he imagine that her pace quickened just the tiniest bit the moment she saw him?  
  
And then she was at his side, their hands clasping to symbolize how they were about to forever entwine their destinies. He shifted slightly in his white tuxedo -- the white tuxedo of a groom instead of the black one of a protector that he usually wore. She slightly bowed her head in modesty and the wedding veil rippled and shimmered behind her.  
  
"Odango Atama..." he murmured.  
  
"Oh finally! Finally we will be married and live happily ever after!" she whispered at his side.  
  
He brought her gloved hand to his lips. This was the happiest he could ever remember himself being. They were surrounded by friends and family --that he could sense even though all the guests remained cloaked in the shadows of the temple. Together they turned forward to face...  
  
"You must stay away...." something whispered in the back of his mind.  
  
...And suddenly the windows of the temple exploded, sending crystal daggers slashing through the air. He moved instinctively, protecting her with his body and trying to pull her closer. Chaos instantly issued as darkness descended upon the temple. He clung to her, his lifeline, but despite all of his power she was ripped away from him as faceless villains profaned the sanctity of the temple.   
  
There was no time for questions, no time for thought. The world was a whirling blur as he desperately searched for his bride. The shadowed villains laughed and taunted as he ran through the confusion.  
  
And then he sensed her. It tingled at the back of his mind, something that had taken him many years to fully understand. It was _her_ --her emotions, her thoughts at the edge of his consciousness. A knot of his soul that would always belong to her.  
  
She was in trouble.   
  
He raced outside the temple, tuxedo fluidly melting into a familiar shade of night as his need to protect her powered his transformation. The chaos spilled out from the temple and infected the entire area as youmas danced in gleeful circles around him.  
  
He pulled out his cane and attacked, pushing forward, needing to reach her side. His weapon whirled in deadly arcs and the flood of youmas fell back. He barely blinked an eye when the cane smoothly molded into a sword. The only thought that pounded through his mind was to find her, his princess.  
  
"SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
  
He turned at the sound and saw a flash of white from the corner of his eye. He rushed forward, his sword cleaving a passage through the unidentifiable enemies. Finally he saw her silhouetted figure as she disintegrated yet another youma. She was breath-taking, clad in a silver and white fuku and wielding a gold and crystal Moon Scepter.  
  
He paused for a heart-beat, a hand coming to his head. A silver and white fuku? Something was wrong... but then the thought fell away and once again he concentrated on reaching her side. From his cape he pulled out his deadliest weapon, a simple red rose that was imbued with all the power of an undying love that had lasted for over a thousand years. He repeatedly hurled the magical red roses at the encroaching youma as he pressed forward. Finally he was within a few steps of her. She turned and smiled at him and his spirit rose at the sight.   
  
"Tuxedo Kamen!" she greeted and then she gracefully pirouetted to blast away another enemy with her scepter.  
  
She took a step towards him and stumbled over the uneven ground. Even in the middle of a battle he had to laugh in happiness. That was _his_ Usako, so graceful at times, so klutzy at all other times.  
  
Sailor Moon reached out towards him...and then suddenly the world trembled and she was pulled away again. He cried out in anger as the villains once again laughed.  
  
"You can never have her." A voice whispered in his mind.  
  
His grip on his sword tightened.  
  
"We are destined to be together!" he called out defiantly to the faceless enemy.  
  
The world once again whirled and then he was confronted by an onslaught of youma. He would have to fight them to once again find her. He leaped into their midst his sword uplifted.  
  
Their attacks came dizzyingly swift. All he heard was a faint rustling before their attacks exploded against his body. They were all around him, taunting and prodding, easily avoiding his attempts to defend himself. His sword cut through empty air as he was repeatedly pummeled at the back and sides. Wildly he struck out trying to catch his tormentors before the next onslaught. Suddenly he once again heard a rustling sound behind him. Whirling about he threw a rose with deadly accuracy.  
  
Only this time there was no cry of rage from a mortally wounded youma... there was only a soft gasp. The world came to a standstill as he regained his bearings and finally saw what stood behind him. The images of a dying monster slowly crumbling to dust on the ground and of a hastily dropped Moon Scepter lying discarded in the grass barely registered in his mind. All he saw was _her_...his beloved Usako, Sailor Moon Champion of Love and Justice, clutching at the blood red rose impaled through her  
heart.  
  
Their eyes caught and held for what seemed an eternity. He gazed into the pair of eyes that he found were the most beautiful in the world, more precious to him then life itself, more mesmerizing then all of the patterns of stars in the sky.  
  
The horrible tableau seemed frozen in time itself. Then she mouthed his name and collapsed to the ground.  
  
He felt as if he were caught in slow motion as he rushed to her side. All the villains, all the youma, everything else in the world disappeared except for her as she lay on the ground bleeding her life away.  
  
He fell on his knees next to her, shock pushing away all other emotions. His whispered "No" was the only thing he was capable of saying.  
  
She feebly clutched at the rose embedded in her breast. A soft cry of pain escaped her lips. Instantly he pulled her into his arms. The blood seeped out from around the thorn studded rose-stem and stained her beautiful silver fuku crimson. The blood swiftly began to pool around her, turning her morning-gold locks of hair into the sad red-hued color of sunset. The warm liquid ran down his arms and tainted the immaculate white of his gloves and shirt. He gazed down at his red-stained hands and the cocoon of shock that sheltered him began to blister and break.  
  
A knot of pain began to expand deep within his chest...  
  
"Oh god, NO! Usako!" his voice cracked in anguish.  
  
He reached down and desperately tried to pull free the rose that had transfixed his beloved's heart. He jerked back as if burned at the scream his attempt ripped from her throat. He gazed down in agony at the rose...HIS rose...that was slowly killing her. Anyone else would have died the moment the weapon had sunken into their flesh, but she...she was Sailor Moon, the past Moon Princess, the future Neo Queen...his Usako....  
  
The future _what_? The thought died unheeded almost the moment it was born.  
  
What had he done?!?  
  
The pain within him increased, growing stronger as she grew weaker.  
  
She gazed up at his, her beautiful eyes glittering with tears of pain and fear. A thin trail of blood trickled from her mouth as she tried to speak. He laid a trembling finger against her pale lips.  
  
"Shhh...don't speak."  
  
She shook her head slightly, the movement seeming to drain all the energy from her.  
  
"I...I..." she murmured as her head dropped back.  
  
"No...please don't leave me!..." emotion choked his voice.  
  
She reached up towards him, the pain of the effort showing plainly on her face. Their fingers entwined, blood stained glove meeting blood stained glove.  
  
The pain was unbearable.  
  
"I...love...y..." Sky blue eyes glazed over.  
  
Her unblinking gaze was directed somewhere beyond him. The red rose, the symbol of their love, had killed her. He had killed her with his love. He shuddered and his embrace tightened as the pain within his own heart built to a crescendo.  
  
"USAAAAAAAAAGIII!!!!!!!" his scream of agony shattered the stillness of the night...  
  
...and woke him up.  
  
As he briefly hovered between the worlds of sleeping and waking he heard the whispered words. "You bring danger to Serenity. You must stay away...STAY AWAY!"  
  
"No!"  
  
Chiba Mamoru clawed his way out of sleep and jerked upright in bed. Hands convulsively clutched at bed sheets as his gasping breaths echoed throughout the quiet apartment.  
  
Blood... The crimson vision of his Usako's death scene replayed over and over again behind his eyes. Wildly scrambling out of bed, Mamoru stumbled through the darkness to the nearby bathroom where he repeatedly wretched into the sink. Long moments passed before the thunder in Mamoru's minds subsided enough for coherent thought to return. He gripped the cold surface of the sink basin and trembled.  
  
No...it was not _possible_. He could NEVER be the cause of his beloved's death! NEVER!  
  
With his mind vehemently denying the message behind the dream, Mamoru slowly returned to his bedroom. He shivered and ran his hands through his hair. He had been having nightmares concerning Usagi for over a week now, but this one had been by far the worst. No mere vague warning this time, it had been a hauntingly clear vision of her.... No! He was her protector...how could he ever _hurt_ her?  
  
As Mamoru sat upon his rumpled bed his gaze came to rest upon the framed picture resting on a nearby nightstand. Even with the fresh memories of the nightmare still haunting him he found himself slightly smiling. In the picture Usako's face was lit up with a 1,000 kilowatt grin as her arms circled his own waist. Instinctively Mamoru reached out for the comfort of holding the photo.  
  
The moment his fingers contacted the glass frame drops of crimson seeped from the picture and obscured the happy scene portrayed within it. With a cry nerveless fingers released the picture. It tumbled through the air and shattered upon impact, crystalline fragments mockingly gleamed in the moonlight taunting the breaking heart reflected in midnight blue eyes.  
  
Mamoru stared at the shattered picture. It was broken but not a trace of crimson marred the surface. Without thought Mamoru reached forward to reclaim the portrait of his beloved... and razor sharp crystal fragments bit into his flesh. Blood welled up on his fingers and dripped unto the picture and frame.  
  
Mamoru froze as his vision came to life before his eyes. Ice ran through his veins, chilling his spirit. His hands slowly dropped away from the picture and a raven haired head lowered in defeat. A single sob escaped into the night.  
  
He would have to be strong...for both of them.  
  
Perhaps one day she would be able to forgive him...but tomorrow it was his turn to rip his heart from his chest. Tomorrow he would tell her it was over.  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
So that's technically not the way it happened...I claim the 'artistic license' excuse. ;p~ Anyway, it seems that a lot of people out on the 'Net really hold the 'break-up' in the R season against Darien/Mamoru (Yeah, he mishandled the entire situation --esp. WHO was sending the nightmares in the first place (@_@) That I will never understand!-- but he must have been hurting at least as much as Serena/Usagi, if not more, during the whole ordeal.) So, since Tuxie is my favorite SM character, I decided to give him some more depth in regard to his break-up with Serena/Usagi.  
  
This is also my response to the challenge of actually writing a 'short story' that was less then my previous 40 page minimum.   
  
Standard disclaimers apply. Sailor Moon and characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei, DiC, Bandai etc. etc. etc.   
  
Sailor Moon's fuku in ~*Nightmare*~, well the dream *is* based on the future, as is the fuku. See the end of the Stars manga for further details. ;)  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
